White House leak reveals Trump allies scrambling for pardons as walls close in

Allies of President Donald Trump are reportedly scrambling to get in touch with him, according to a new report from The Telegraph, begging for pardons as they feel the walls closing in on them and fear new oversight from congressional Democrats.

With the Democrats expected to sweep back into power in the midterm elections, White House insiders are said to be petrified about the prospect of wide-ranging Democratic investigations into the administration's misconduct. The opposition party is all but guaranteed to retake the House majority, empowering them to launch investigations into the president, as well as his staff, his family and his business associates.

“People are walking in asking for pardons,” one source familiar with the behind-the-scenes chaos at the White House told the outlet. “The Democrats are going to have a field day.”

"Inside Donald Trump’s White House, anxiety is growing," Connor Stringer, the Telegraph's chief Washington correspondent, explained. "Conversations have pivoted from how to win the midterms to what happens if the Republicans lose. For some officials, the biggest fear is being dragged through hostile investigations for the next two years after a Democratic takeover of Congress on Tuesday. Others worry about a campaign to impeach the president, who himself is mulling mass pardons for junior administration staff to ease their trepidation."

Beyond the anxiety overwhelming parts of the administration and the broader MAGA-sphere, the report also revealed that plans are underway to try to advance parts of Trump's agenda going forward, even if Congress becomes partially or entirely controlled by Democrats.

"Preparing for the worst, the White House has developed a plan to keep major parts of Mr. Trump’s political agenda on track if Democrats seize control," Stringer added. "Senior officials, including Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff, have spent months drafting a plan that would let Mr Trump govern without congressional approval. Will Scharf, the White House counsel, and his team are also looking at 'what Mr. Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court,' an official told Reuters."

He added further: "While the White House prepares to dig in, the president has become increasingly frustrated by the lack of people willing to go out and bat for him in public. He is said to have privately complained that he did not have enough high-profile allies pushing back against critics or highlighting his second-term wins in the run-up to election day. It is a problem made worse by the loss of core loyalists, such as Karoline Leavitt, the former White House press secretary, who have transitioned to outside advisory roles."